Kauai Elepaio

Chasiempis sclateri

Order

Family

Code 4

Code 6

ITIS

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Location:

Usually in a fork of native or non native trees.

Nest Material:

Rootlets, grasses, spider webs, and bark.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

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General

Kauai Elepaio: Small monarch flycatcher; most distinct Elepaio. Crown and back are dark gray-brown to light gray, white to light gray underparts have light orange-brown wash on upper breast. Lores, eyebrows, chin and throat are white mixed with cinnamon. Wing bars and rump are white, long brown tail is white-tipped. Sexes are similar; females may have less color on throat and breast. Juveniles have red-brown head, back and upper breast; off-white underparts, buff wing bars; white stippling on the wings is replaced by rusty coloration.

Range and Habitat

Kauai Elepaio: Endemic to Kauai. Prefers dense, wet ohia forests above 2,000', however most individuals may be found at elevations above 3,600'. They are uncommon in the dry forests of Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast. Much of their population is found on the Alaka'i Plateau and Koke'e State Park.

Breeding and Nesting

Kauai Elepaio: These birds are monogamous and remain together all year, often mating for life. One to three white eggs with red-brown markings are laid in a woven cup-shaped nest built in the ohia tree and other trees. Both sexes incubate the eggs for 18 days. The chicks fledge after 16 days but continue to be fed by their parents for more than a month.

Foraging and Feeding

Kauai Elepaio: Their diet includes a variety of arthropods, mostly small insects and spiders. They search for and capture prey in vertical trunks, branches and leaves, and also forage through the air and on the ground. In flight, they are capable of rapid flight and quick changes in direction to capture prey, but they also descend to the ground and hop and creep among roots and hollow logs.